Suicide Bomber Hits Israel Market
Sun May 19, 2:15 PM ET

By DAFNA LINZER, Associated Press Writer

NETANYA, Israel (AP) - A Palestinian bomber disguised in an army uniform slipped into a produce
market Sunday and detonated his explosive, killing 7 Israelis, wounding
at least 28 and ending a brief period of relative calm inside Israel.

The Sunday afternoon bombing overturned stalls of apples, tomatoes and cabbages in a narrow
aisle at the open-air market in the coastal city of Netanya, and also overshadowed political
initiatives under discussion in recent days.

In the hours before the blast, Israeli security forces had been on alert in the oft-targeted
Netanya area after receiving information that a suicide bomber was preparing an attack.

However, such warnings are virtually everyday events in Israel, and unless the information is highly specific, it is not necessarily enough to prevent attacks by bombers who need only a moment to strike in busy public places.

The bomber, who died in the explosion, was wearing an olive green Israeli army uniform — a common sight on Israeli streets — and that may have helped him avoid notice.

"It appears he arrived with someone else who dropped him off at the market," said Lieberman. "He moved through the stalls until he found some place to blow himself up."

7 Israelis were killed and six of the 28 wounded were in serious condition.

There was no immediate claim of responsibility, though an assortment of militant Palestinian groups have carried out about 60 suicide bombings in the current Mideast conflict.

In Washington, Vice President Dick Cheney (news - web sites) said: "I think there clearly is a class of bombings" that Arafat can't rein in.

"On the other hand, there have in the past been bombings by elements of Palestinian organizations that come under his control and there he clearly has the capacity to act," Cheney told NBC's "Meet the Press."

But the Netanya bombing was a stark reminder of the ever-present threat of renewed violence.

Netanya is on the Mediterranean coast, yet is just nine miles from the West Bank, and has been frequently targeted by Palestinian militants. On March 27, an attack in a Netanya hotel killed 29 people at the beginning
of the Jewish Passover holiday, and Israel responded with a sweeping offensive in the West Bank aimed at dismantling the militant groups in the Palestinian autonomous zones.

"Anyone who thought that the Palestinian genocide against Israelis is over is completely mistaken," said David Baker, an official in Prime Minister Ariel Sharon (news - web sites)'s office. "The Palestinian terror
campaign continues unabated, as does Israel's battle against terror."

Before Sunday's attack, the last deadly bombing in Israel was May 7, when a suicide bomber from the militant group Hamas killed 15 Israelis at a pool hall just south of Tel Aviv.

After that bombing, Israel threatened to launch an offensive in the Gaza Strip (news - web sites) similar
to the one carried out in the West Bank. However, with the United States and other countries urging restraint, Israel decided not to unleash the offensive then, but warned it might do so later.